Underground Twilight
by we be heartless
Summary: Zexion was the dreamer, Vexen was the skeptic, and Lexaeus was the one that kept them grounded. None of them believed they’d ever know anything beyond Twilight Town, but a chance encounter with darkness changes everything. AU, full summary inside


_**Full Summary:**_ Zexion was the dreamer, Vexen was the skeptic, and Lexaeus was the one that kept them grounded. None of them believed they'd ever know anything beyond Twilight Town. But when a chance encounter with the darkness cost them their hearts, the three boys must depend on each other in order to recover what they'd lost. [AU]

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He could hear the cheers rising up from the crowds, carried on the wind and dispersing amongst the vermillion-tinted clouds. Although the endless sunset that graced the sky was as lovely as ever, few would be enjoying the sight from the Sunset Terrace. At least half of the population of Twilight Town was gathered in the Sandlot, watching the semifinals of the last Struggle match of the year. It was the most popular sport in the quaint town, and it was always the topic of conversation among the students at the local high school. Even the adults found interest in the outcome of the Struggle tournament.

Zexion didn't care. He had never been one to jump on the bandwagon, even going out of his way to avoid it, if at all possible. Sports, especially one as highly competitive and potentially injurious as the Struggle, did not interest the small and rather skinny youth. Zexion didn't mind, however, that he wasn't particularly popular or well-liked at school. He had far better things to be doing than watching his classmates whack each other with foam sticks.

Though his usual solemn expression was on his face as he passed through the Tram Common and up the sloping path to Station Heights, Zexion was content, even happy. The noise of the commotion at the Sandlot faded into the distance, and a gentle breeze carrying just a bit of the autumn chill blew by, ruffling his messy silver hair. He felt the familiar weight of his leather-bound journal in his gloved hands, an item that he rarely went without, despite the occasional jibes he received at school for still having a diary at age fifteen. None of them mattered to him, for the opinions he valued came from those who understood.

Lexaeus was already waiting for him at the top of clock tower, dressed in his usual white vest and tan pants and greeting Zexion with a small nod and a ghost of a smile. The older boy was as taciturn as ever, but Zexion had been around him long enough to able to tell that Lexaeus was pleased to see him, even if no words were exchanged as he settled himself next to his burly friend on the edge of the tower.

A few moments passed in companionable silence before Lexaeus inquired, "Vexen's not with you?"

Had it been anyone else, Zexion would have responded with a sarcastic, "Obviously." The slate-haired boy knew, though, that Lexaeus was actually asking about the blond's whereabouts in the polite manner he always showed his friends, so instead, he replied, "No, I haven't seen him all day."

"Hm. You must have been bored then," Lexaeus rumbled, amusement coloring his deep voice. Zexion rolled his eyes.

There was, he had to admit, some truth to Lexaeus's words. Zexion and Vexen rarely saw eye to eye, Zexion being the imaginative dreamer and Vexen being a pragmatic realist. Vexen would always find some sort of flaw in Zexion's illusions, which inevitably lead to many arguments between the two. Somehow, through the years, they'd remained friends, though neither knew whether it was due to Lexaeus's calming influence or the fact that both thrived on intellectual challenge, and they actually quite enjoyed their debates.

Footsteps approaching from below and a voice calling their names made both boys look down to see their third companion coming in to Station Heights, a bar of sea-salt ice cream in one hand. Despite the relatively mild weather, Vexen had a long, pale blue scarf knotted around his neck, a detail that Zexion guessed was more for fashion than anything else, since the sleeveless navy vest did little to ward of chills. Vexen easily spotted them, waving with his free hand. Zexion returned the wave, watching as his friend disappeared behind the clock tower to the stairs that led to their platform.

"Gentlemen," Vexen greeted them as he reappeared, sweeping back his long blond hair. Zexion couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic. "Not interested in watching the Struggle?" he added as he seated himself next to Zexion on the ledge. The younger boy snorted.

"Do you even need to ask?" Zexion eyed his friend as the blond attempted to slurp up a dribble of half-melted ice cream before it ran down his hand and grimaced. "Classy."

Vexen casually gave him the finger as Lexaeus chuckled and Zexion smirked. "Speaking of 'classy,' Setzer's in the finals again. You'd think he'd have outgrown a children's sport by now."

"You actually went to watch?" Zexion asked disbelievingly at the same time Lexaeus questioned, "Who was he Struggling against?"

"One of our classmates; the one with the swirly blond hair. Maybe it'll take Setzer getting his ass handed to him to finally realize that he should have outgrown this pastime a decade ago," Vexen replied. "And yes, my dear Zexion, I stopped by on my way here. Not all of us are social recluses, after all." And the slate-haired boy _knew_ he was being sarcastic this time.

"So says the one who spent a week locked in his basement working on an extra credit chemistry assignment," Zexion countered smoothly. "Really, stopping by a Struggle game just because you knew that a certain pink-haired fellow would be competing doesn't constitute being social." He was then forced to duck to avoid being hit in the nose by an ice-cream stick.

"You shouldn't litter," Lexaeus pointed out from the other side of Zexion, following the trail of the little wooden stick as it fell to the pavement far below.

"It is an unfortunate consequence of Zexion acting like a third derivative."

Zexion was only half-listening to the terrible joke, distracted by the motion in his peripheral vision. The boy turned his head to watch the train coming back from Sunset Station, flashes of light glinting off of the brightly decorated train cars. The pale blue tracks stood out clear against the darkening sky and wound away into the distance, where the rolling hills grew hazy and everything turned to mist. It was a sight that had always filled Zexion with a longing for something more than the current life he led, as much as he loved Twilight Town, because he couldn't help but imagine how much more was out there. His companions, accustomed to their friend's penchant for falling into daydreams, carried on with their conversation.

"We should be heading back soon." Lexaeus followed Zexion's line of vision, squinting against the last rays of the setting sun. "We do have school tomorrow."

"Summer vacation is over. Wonderful." Vexen sighed. "It's not the workload I fear; that aspect of school is always laughable. I just hate having to deal with the idiots Mr. Ansem always assigns me as lab partners."

"He does it in the hopes that you'll guide their efforts," Lexaeus informed him patiently. The blond boy sniffed.

"He can keep hoping, then."

"Try to be nice."

"Nice? The last fool I had to work with set me on fire with a Bunsen burner!"

Lexaeus simply shook his head, knowing there was no way he'd convince his inflexible friend in this matter. The burly sixteen-year old pulled off the bandana he wore on his head, tuning out his friend as he ran a hand through his wiry reddish-brown hair. Vexen had been known to go on like this for hours, and Lexaeus knew that the best way to get the aspiring scientist to stop talking was to stop paying attention. Instead, he focused his attention on the smallest boy. "Zexion?"

"Hm?"

"What's on your mind?"

Zexion, who had been staring off into the sky as if he could see beyond the golden clouds to something beyond, dazedly lowered his head, meeting Lexaeus's deep blue eyes with his one visible one. "Do you think there are other worlds out there?"

"It's possible."

"I wish we could see them." His fringe of silver hair obscured his face, but the wistfulness was clear in his tone. Lexaeus fell silent, unsure how to respond.

"That seems unlikely." Vexen had, by now, snapped out of his tirade about incompetent people. "Even if there was another world out there, how would we get there? Build a raft and sail across the ocean? Or maybe you believe that the ghost train is capable of reaching your hypothetical worlds."

Zexion chose to ignore the blatant cynicism coming from his friend, focusing on the last sentence instead. "Ghost train? What ghost train?"

"You haven't heard of it? It's supposed to be one of the 'Seven Wonders of Twilight Town'," the blond replied, holding up two fingers to form air quotations around the title. "Apparently, a train with no passengers or driver sometimes pulls into the station, and then travels to some unknown place. That Pence guy wouldn't shut up about it last week when I ran into him at the convenience store."

Zexion's eyes gleamed. "What if it were true? Where do you think it would lead?"

"How would I know? Some creepy sorcerer's tower that defies the laws of gravity, maybe?" Vexen sounded annoyed. "Don't lose sleep over it, Zexion. Pence was just using it to embellish his report on Twilight Town's culture. Speaking of which, I have to put some finishing touches on mine."

"Vexen, procrastinating?" Lexaeus raised one eyebrow.

"It's just a title page," the other snapped. "It'll take but a few minutes!"

"Even so, we'd better go back home. It's almost dark." The tallest of the three stood, grabbing his bandana where it lay on the cooling bricks. The other two followed suit with reluctance.

"And we have to wake up early tomorrow. Make that two things I detest about school."

"Really, Vexen? And here I thought you wouldn't have that problem. I was under the impression that you didn't sleep."

"Oh Zexion. Your wit astounds me."

The friendly banter continued between the two as they descended the stairs, combined with Lexaeus's amused sigh. The city lights of the town below them were winking on one by one like fallen stars, or perhaps fireflies, and a gentle neon glow emanated from the location of the Marketplace. The air echoed with the faint voices of people calling their children home from the Struggle match to dinner. The last night of summer vacation.

Zexion turned just in time to catch sight of a single train car, fading away into the darkness.

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**A/N:** See this story here? This is BF's big project for the next few months or until I lose interest. Never thought I'd do a multichapter thing with no crack…

Anyway, I wanted to write about these three way back when I doodled a picture of Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion as Twilight Town kids and I realized they make a nice little trinity of offense, defense, and magic. Now I'm finally getting around to it. Yay!

I know they're a little out of character, but I figured I'd take some liberties 'cuz three intelligent, logical, not very talkative boys on an adventure doesn't make for much diversity. So Zexion is spacier, Lexaeus is friendlier, and Vexen is snarkier. I know they're not as OOC as in some fics I've read, at least… Oh, and pairings. Yeah. Due to the author's inability to write anything without slashing people, this story will probably have hints of pairings. If you don't like it, I guess you can either not read it or ignore it. They'll be irrelevant to the plot, anyway.

Oh yeah, BF doesn't own anything. At all. Not even her own soul.


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